Chapter 34

Chapter 34

RYAN

“We need to talk.” Those were the last words I said to her before I turned and walked out of the conference room.

I didn’t wait for her reaction. I didn’t trust myself to.

I went straight to my office, shut the door, and headed for the small fridge in the corner. My throat felt tight, my pulse too fast, and my whole body felt like someone turned the heat up.

I grabbed a bottle of water, twisted the cap, and drank almost half of it in one go—cold, sharp, anything to calm me down. But it didn’t help. It didn’t do a damn thing.

My hand was still shaking when I set the bottle down.

Of course, that was exactly when Dante walked in without knocking.

He froze halfway inside the room, staring at me like I’d grown a second head. “Okay… what’s with the face? Did someone tell you your stocks crashed? Or did Rachel confess her love to you again?”

I shot him a glare. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine.” He closed the door behind him and walked closer, squinting like he was inspecting a crime scene. “Actually, you look like you’re about to pass out. Or commit a felony. One of the two.”

“I said I’m fine,” I repeated, slower this time.

“No, you’re definitely not,” he said, crossing his arms. “Your eyebrow is twitching. It only does that when you’re stressed. Or horny. Or both—”

“Get out,” I cut in, pointing at the door.

He grinned. “Ah. So it’s the second one.”

I groaned. “Dante, I’m serious. Leave.”

“Don’t be like that,” he said, still smiling like an idiot. “Come on, tell me what’s going on. Did someone annoy you? Did someone mess up a project? Oh wait… did someone get under your skin? Oh my goodness… Do you want me to kill someone?”

“Dante.” I called out in frustration.

“Fine, fine.” He threw his hands up in mock surrender. “I’ll stop teasing you. But let me say just one thing—”

“No.”

“—you’re acting weird.”

I dragged a hand through my hair. “Your talent for stating the obvious is incredible.”

He chuckled. “Your sarcasm is alive. See? You’re getting better already.”

“Good. Now leave.”

He headed for the door, still smirking. “I’ll be outside if you need someone to bully.”

“Out,” I said again.

He slipped out with a lazy salute and shut the door behind him.

Finally.

Silence.

I sat down, letting out a long breath. My body was still too tight, like the tension had wrapped itself around me and refused to let go.

All because of one moment.

One stupid moment.

Olivia’s answer.

I replayed it in my mind again, hearing her soft voice, watching her eyes lift toward me like she wasn’t sure she should speak but did anyway. I expected something simple, something safe. Maybe even something wrong.

But she hit it. Dead center!

Like she’d read the analytic reports herself.
Like she somehow got inside my head and pulled the exact thought I’d been thinking since last night.

How the hell did she know that much?

She wasn’t supposed to know that yet. She was new. She was still adjusting. I didn’t expect her to catch something even the senior staff missed.

And the look she gave me when she finished… God.

That look burned through me.

And the worst part?

I almost lost control right there in front of everyone.

If I hadn’t forced myself to breathe, to blink, to look away, I would’ve walked across the room, grabbed her by the waist, pushed her against the wall, and kissed the life out of her.

Right there, in the meeting and in front of everyone.

I dropped my head into my hands.

She had no idea what she did to me.

What she kept doing to me.

I hated it. I hated the effect she had on me. I hated the way she could look at me with those eyes and my entire chest would tighten. I hated that a simple answer from her made me feel like I was losing my mind.

And now she probably wouldn’t come to my office.

Not after the way I’d been acting the last few days…cold, distant, annoyed. Not after the way I snapped at her. I’d been pushing her away on purpose, but it still burned when she pulled back.

I leaned back in my chair, staring at the ceiling.

I was tired.

Tired of this push and pull. Tired of pretending I didn’t want her.

Tired of fighting this thing inside me that only grew stronger every time she walked into a room.

I wanted her.

God, I wanted her so badly it scared me.

I wanted to own every inch of her.

I wanted her body, her laugh, her sharp little tongue, her fire.

I wanted to hold her so close she wouldn’t even remember how to breathe without me.

But then reality hit me like a slap.

She was my friend’s daughter.

And I was old enough to be her father.

Every time the desire hit me hard, every time the need crawled through my spine, I reminded myself of that. I reminded myself that this was wrong. That I shouldn’t want her this way.

But wanting and stopping were two different things.

And right now, I was failing at both.

I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. “What the hell am I doing?”

There was no way she would walk into this office. No way she would come willingly after the cold shoulder I’d given her. She probably thought I hated her by now. And honestly, at this point, I didn’t blame her.

My thoughts were still running wild when a soft knock broke through the quiet.

I froze.

My eyes shot to the door.

I didn’t move, but my heart did—it jumped, hard, like it wanted to crawl out of my chest.

Another knock came, gentle but clear.

I stood up without thinking. My hands suddenly felt clumsy, and before I even understood what I was doing, I started arranging the files on my desk. Fixing papers that didn’t need fixing. Straightening pens. Adjusting things just to keep myself from falling apart.

Then I reached for my tie and tightened it a little, smoothing it down like I was about to meet someone important.

I stopped.

Why the hell was I nervous?

She was just a girl.

A young girl.

She wasn’t supposed to make me feel this way, wasn’t supposed to make me adjust myself like a schoolboy hoping to look presentable.

I let out a shaky breath.

“What if it’s not her?” I whispered under my breath. “What if I’m jumping for nothing like an idiot?”

Another knock.

Softer this time.
But steady.

There was something about it… something familiar. Like she wasn’t sure she should knock, but she did anyway.

My heart twisted.

I finally found my voice.

“Come in.”

The door opened slowly, like the person behind it was scared to enter.

Olivia stepped inside.

Her hair slightly messy, her eyes unsure, her fingers gripping a notepad like she needed something to hold on to. She looked small, nervous, and so painfully beautiful that something inside me snapped even tighter.

Our eyes met.

Everything in me went still.

She closed the door behind her quietly, her gaze dropping for a moment before lifting again.

She was here.

S
he actually came.

I didn’t breathe, I couldn’t.

She stood there in front of me, waiting, not saying anything yet.

And I realized something—

Whatever control I thought I had?

It was gone.